It's All In the Cards
by Darcelona
Summary: This is going to be a fluffy R/H fic involving Divinatory card readings (hence the really corny title). Probably gonna be 2 parts long, I hope you enjoy!
1. Default Chapter

It

It's All In the Cards Part 1 

_A/N I know, corny title, huh?It's yet another R/H fic and it involves Divinatory card readings.It was originally gonna be tarot readings, but there are so many meanings for all the different positions and reversals of the cards that it'd be way too complicated for me to write it accurately.I have these other cards that are your basic deck of playing cards that have meanings stuck on the ends of them.They are a lot of fun to use and are the easiest ones to interpret.Anyhoo, this tale starts during a Divination lesson for the boys, enjoy!!! Special thanks to METMA Mandy for editing this for me, love ya lots!!!!! _

Disclaimer: *sigh* JKR owns the HP characters and she probably owns a deck of cards as well. 

"Quiet down, my dears, we have a very important lesson today."Professor Trelawney's misty voice was fruitless in its attempts at settling down her excitable class.The 5th year Gryffindors were all in high-spirits as a result of Saturday's spectacular Quidditch match, in which Gryffindor slaughtered Slytherin, 400 to 20.The most boisterous table in Professor Trelawney's classroom by far was Harry and Ron's table, where all five Gryffindor boys were gleefully discussing Gryffindor's newly improved chances for the House Cup.Professor shot them a look of dislike for their unenthusiastic attitude toward her class, and cleared her throat loudly. 

"As I was explaining, class, we will be learning how to tell fortunes with card readings.Now all of you take a deck from the shelf over there and I will show you the seven card method."Everyone in the class scrambled to the large shelf, which held Professor Trelawney's (sorry bout that I screwed up!) collection of teacups and tattered decks of cards, and were bound together with different colored ribbons.Once each of them had taken a deck and sat back down, Professor Trelawney began to speak again. 

"These are just plain playing cards, and are usually used for the seven card method, which is the most basic technique in card Divination.In the seven card method, the person whose fortune you're reading will be required to shuffle the cards and cut the deck three times with their left hand." Trelawney took her own deck and demonstrated how to cut and shuffle the cards on Parvati and Lavender's table; the two of them were gazing up at her with the deepest admiration and awe."After cutting the deck and putting the three stacks of cards back together, take the first seven cards and place them on the table in a row like this." She pulled seven cards from the deck and placed them next to each other from left to right."Then you read off the meaning at the top of the card.Each of the seven cards' meaning will pertain to the order in which it is pulled out of the deck, for example, the 1st position card pertains to Inner Self, the 2nd pertains to the energy surrounding the person, etc.This is all in your textbooks, so don't worry about remembering it all right now." Trelawney's wheezy voice seemed to be directing this at Neville, who was looking frantic at all the information she was reeling off the top of her head. 

"Now, to give you practice in giving readings, you will be giving one reading to someone and reporting back to the class to explain the person's fortune.Explanations of your readings will be due next lesson.I think that's everything of importance… Class dismissed" 

"Errgh, I hate all these stupid Divination projects!" Harry complained to Ron as they descended the silver stepladder, "I'm not going to have any time to do it with all the Quidditch practice Fred and George planned!" 

"Yeah," Ron agreed, "But they'll understand.They're much better captains than Wood anyway," he remarked airily."Trelawney's such a prat. I'm going to relax this week and make up some miserable fortune the night before it's due.She never knows the difference." 

*** 

The night before his Divination assignment was due, Ron found himself sitting alone in a gradually emptying common room, bored out of his mind.Harry had been at practice for what seemed like days, so Ron decided to wait for him to come back.He lethargically pulled at stray threads in his aging robes, glancing about the room sluggishly.His eyes wandered over to the familiar bushy-haired figure of Hermione, who was sitting at a table all by herself, bent over her usual stack of books, writing quickly on a scroll that looked to be about 4 ½ feet long.Ron decided to stretch his legs and walk over to her table to say hello. 

"Hey, 'Mione, what're you working on?" he asked, moving a stack of papers off a chair and sitting down. 

"Just as second-" she hurriedly wrote a few more words, dotted her last period with a flourish, and threw her quill down, looking up to beam at Ron. 

"Goodness!, I think that was the longest essay Professor Vector had assigned us all year!" Hermione said breathlessly.She did not seem to be complaining; in fact, her expression seemed to radiate a sense of manic pride."So what's up, Ron? What're you doing down here so late?" 

Ron didn't really think that 9 o'clock was all that late, but answered anyway. 

"I'm just waiting for Harry to get back from practice.That seems to be all he does nowadays." 

"Yeah," Hermione agreed, "It's really ridiculous that he has to practice this much. When does he have time to do his homework?" 

"I don't know-" Suddenly, the mention of homework jogged Ron's memory and he remembered that his Divination report, hadn't been done.He slapped himself in the forehead. "Crap!I forgot to do my stupid Divination thingy.Hermione, can I borrow some parchment?" 

"Ron!Don't curse!" Hermione answered, scowling, but pulling a fresh roll from her bag. "What's this report about anyway?" 

Ron explained about card Divination and how he was supposed to give a card reading to someone and report back about it. 

"Well, wait a minute," said Hermione, looking slightly puzzled, "How are you going to do the assignment if you haven't given anyone a reading?" 

"I'm not actually going to do the reading, that would be a waste of time.I'm just going to make something up like I always do.As long as it's depressing, she'll believe every word of it." 

"Ron, I don't approve of you doing your homework in such a haphazardly way!I think you should go get your textbook and things and do this assignment properly." Hermione replied commandingly, crossing her arms and giving him a reproachful look. 

"Hermione, who are you, my mother?" Ron said indignantly. 

"You're mother would agree with me that homework should be done properly!" 

"Well, what do you care, it's Divination, you don't believe in that stuff anyway!" 

The two of them bickered like this for several minutes until Ron, finally sick of Hermione's nagging, gave up and went to his dorm to get his deck of cards and textbook._(A/N Is it a little OOC that Ron gave up fighting?I mean, is he so stubborn that he won't do something just to make her shut up??? AHHHHHH!)_ Once he came back down with his Divination things, he glanced around the common room, which was now suddenly empty except for him and Hermione.It was as if an invisible specter had driven everyone away. 

"Oh, great, now that you're forcing me to give someone a reading, there's no one here.Oh well, I guess I'll just be going up to bed then." 

He began to turn around, but Hermione's imperious voice stopped him. 

"Well, since I'm a good friend who doesn't want you to have incomplete homework, I'm willing to put aside my dislike for Divination and let you give me a reading."Ron turned back to face her, his expression contorted in exasperation. 

"You just don't give up, do you?" he asked. 

"Nope," she replied simply, pulling out the chair next to her. "Now sit yourself down, you great prat."Ron threw his hands up in defeat and sat down.Hermione smiled triumphantly, and took Ron's deck of cards out of his hands."So what am I supposed to do with these cards, exactly?" she asked. 

Ron looked in his textbook and read the directions for shuffling aloud to Hermione and she followed them.When Ron took the cards back and laid them out, they looked like this: 

Inner Self Card
Energy Around You
Past
Hope/Fear
People Around You
Obstacle
Outcome

Be patient, everything shall pay off soon.
A brief meeting will cause much confusion
A dark, older man is working to make things come out right for you.
You will marry sooner than you think.
Ignorance is Bliss.
Don't wait too long before saying, "Yes."
Your Wish

"Okay then," Ron's brow furrowed as he read the cards and began to analyze the meanings on them. "This first one here is probably telling you to be patient about something…don't know what exactly… and the second one may be telling you that you'll be confused about a meeting of some kind…" 

"Gee Ron, you don't sound stupid in the least bit," Hermione said derisively.Ron gave Hermione one quick contemptuous glance before continuing: 

"…And this third card here says that there's some dark older guy- Hermione, is there something you're not telling me?Oh wait, that's the past card, that means that it happened a while ago so it doesn't really matter now…" Hermione's expression, which had shown skepticism during Ron's spiel, now betrayed a sense of comprehension mixed with incredulity; she looked like she was beginning to understand what the reading was referring to, but could hardly believe it to be true. 

"…'You will marry sooner than you think?' Oooooookay, moving on… your 'people around you' card says that someone near you is ignorant- no surprises there, Miss Smarty Trousers." Ron looked up from the cards to see if Hermione would giggle at his comment, but she was still staring wide-eyed at the cards."…Then your obstacle has something to do with saying yes to something-maybe you'll have to make a decision or something?I dunno… and then your outcome will be your wish."Ron scribbled the meanings on his parchment for class and put the 7 cards back into the deck."Okay, I have no clue what any of this is about, do you?" 

Hermione remained silent; her eyes didn't budge from the spot where the last card had been. 

"Hello?" Ron said, waving his hand in front of Hermione's face."Earth to Hermione?I said, I have no clue what this reading is about, do you?" 

Hermione finally glanced at Ron, her eyes glittering. 

"You really don't have any idea what those cards were referring to?" Hermione mumbled, she sounded hurt. 

"No, I don't," Ron replied impatiently, "I've already told you that I don't.Why don't you just tell me what all this is about so I can finish my this stupid assignment and go to bed." 

Hermione, outraged by Ron's insolence, yelled, "If you don't know Ron, I'm not going to tell you!" She leapt up from her chair and stormed toward to the girls' staircase in a huff. 

"What is your problem?!" Ron shouted back, confused and indignant.Hermione froze, slowly turned back to face Ron and said in a icy whisper, "You, Ron Weasley, are my problem." And with that, she ran up the stairs, leaving Ron taken aback and more confused than ever.


	2. Default Chapter

It

It's All in the Cards Part 2

Disclaimer: All characters and places belong to J.K. Rowling, la la la, you know the drill.

_A/N I'm baaaaaaack with part 2 of my R/H fic. I am sooo sorry it took so long to get this up; I was really busy with schoolwork and studying during the last few weeks of school (thank GOD it's finally over!) and I had a difficult writing this; I literally wrote it line by line. But anyway, moving right along, thanks to Eliza and Taylor for reading and giving feedback, I really appreciate it! And of course, thanks to the lovely people who reviewed part 1 (except for Aiden H. the H stands for HOE! lol) Without further ado, here is part 2! (hey that rhymes! ^-^) _

Ron rose later than usual the next morning due to the fact that he spent most of the sleepless night trying to comprehend why Hermione had gotten so angry with him.He simply could not understand how giving her a pointless card reading could trigger such an outburst. I mean, she was the one who demanded that we do the reading… why on Earth is she getting so mad at me. He kept replaying the evening's events in his mind, becoming more and more puzzled and annoyed by Hermione's behavior.Had he said something to offend her?(_As usual_, he thought glumly.) Was it the reading itself that infuriated her? Or was it something else entirely that Ron just hadn't grasped yet? 

"Ron, hurry up, we're gonna miss breakfast." Ron was jolted out of his thoughts by Harry's feeble shout.He looked almost as tired as Ron felt; his shoulders sagged as he tied his shoes, the dark circles under his eyes were magnified by his glasses.Ron figured his friend's appearance was a result of all his Quidditch training.He finished pulling on his robes and the two of them lumbered down to the Great Hall for a quick breakfast, then trudged back up seven flights of stairs for their 1st class of the day- Divination. 

"Oh, no!" Harry burst out suddenly, "I completely forgot to do that card thingy!And we're supposed to read those in front of the class, right?" 

"Err, I think-" Ron muttered nervously; the very mention of card readings reminded him of Hermione's livid display, which made him feel uncomfortable. 

"Did you do yours?Can I see it?" Harry asked breathlessly, setting his bag down to fish out parchment and a quill. 

"Um- yeah I did mine, but it's kinda… I think I may have screwed it up-" 

"I don't care, I just want to see how it's supposed to be set up." Ron nodded, pulled out his project, and reluctantly handed it to Harry.As Harry briefly scanned Ron's paper, his brow creased in mild perplexity and asked, "Whose cards did you read?"Ron sighed out of slight aggravation as well as embarrassment before answering, "Hermione.It was really strange.After I told her about the assignment, she forced me to actually give her a reading rather than make something up, but once I did, she blew up at me and stormed off.It's been sorta bugging me; I have no clue why she's upset." 

Harry's furrowed brow evaporated and comprehension emerged on his face as he reread Ron's assignment. 

"You really don't know why she got so mad?" Harry asked, smiling almost in a patronizing way. 

"No, Harry," Ron replied indignantly,"I don't.Why, am I supposed to?Do you know what's going on?Would you be so kind at to fill me in?Since it seems that I'm the only one in the dark." 

"C'mon, we're gonna be late." Harry said, hastily changing the subject. 

*** 

Shortly after the two arrived in Professor Trelawney's classroom class begun, leaving Harry very little time to scribble his homework. 

"Hello, my dears, I'm very excited to see how well your card readings went.Who would like to volunteer to go first?"Parvati's and Lavender's hands shot straight up.Professor Trelawney smiled warmly but said, "Now, now, girls, I know how eager you are to participate, but I predicted that I must give some of the less enthusiastic students a chance to go first.I have foreseen that certain people's grades shall suffer if they don't contribute to the class." Parvati and Lavender hung their heads, crestfallen. "Now, let's see, who shall we go with," she glanced around the class and her eyes landed on Ron. "Ah yes, that'll do nicely.Mr. Weasley, would you care to present?"Ron, grumbling crossly, stood up and walked to stand in front of Professor Trelawney's winged chair.He cleared his throat and began: 

"Okay, I read my friend's cards and- I don't have to say their name, do I?" Ron asked Professor Trelawney, who shook her head, causing her dangly beaded earrings to hit her in the face, "Okay, well the reading went like this: Her Inner Self card said "Be patient, everything shall pay off soon" and that relates to her because- I guess she's a patient person? I dunno."Ron's lack of assurance in his presentation received several snickers from Parvati and Lavender's side of the room. 

"Her 'Energy Around You' card says that 'a brief meeting will cause much confusion.'I guess that's referring to something confusing that's gonna happen to her… 

" Ron paused a moment, _Hmmm, my "meeting" with Hermione last night sure caused a lot of confusion at least for me…what a coincidence. ___Ron snapped out of his thought and continued, 

"…her 'Past' card says ' A dark, older man is working to make things come out right for you.'" Ron stopped again and suddenly felt as though someone had pulled a blindfold off his eyes, allowing him to see clearly what had once been obscured._Viktor! Of course, the dark, older man in Hermione's life, it's Viktor! _Ron felt the familiar anger bubble within him; he had never been on great terms concerning Hermione's relationship with Viktor.Ron resumed, faltering the slightest bit, 

"…a-and her Hope or Fear card says that 'you will marry sooner than you think?!" Ron said, beginning to get a bit hysterical. _Oh my God, this is saying that she's going to marry Viktor!_ This can't be happening! he thought wildly, blanching. 

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to interrupt here," Professor Trelawney's misty voice interrupted Ron's panicked musings, "In this type of deck that we're using, there are cards that are not always interpreted literally.Cards like this one about marriage are can be referring to some kind of relationship, usually the beginning of a new one." 

Ron let out a small sigh of relief, but noticed something strange going on among his classmates: Lavender's eyes had suddenly lit up, and whispered something to Parvati, who turned and whispered to Seamus and Dean with the same knowing, almost shrewd glint in her eyes.Then, oddly enough, the four of them looked imploringly at Harry, who nodded discreetly, which caused Lavender and Parvati to giggle behind their hands and Seamus and Dean to glance up at Ron, smiling mischievously.Neville watched all of this, looking more confused than Ron felt.This display caused Ron's ears to redden with embarrassment.It was obvious that his audience knew something that he didn't, and he hated the sinking feeling of stupidity that was steadily growing within him because of this one simple reading.Perturbed, Ron went on: 

"…and then the "People Around You" card says that "Ignorance is Bliss." _Yeah right,_ Ron thought bitterly, _I seem to be very ignorant about this stupid reading, but it is in no way blissful. ___Suddenly, Ron looked back at the reading and re-read the heading "People Around You." _Hmmm, I'm a person around Hermione… could this reading have anything to do with me? _With this thought in mind, he continued, "…her obstacle is "Don't wait too long before saying yes," which most likely refers to…" he thought a moment to find intelligent words to explain this card, hoping to negate his classmates' apparent assumption that he was completely stupid, "…a decision that has to be made by one of the parties involved in this reading." He smirked momentarily, but after he said it, the words made him ponder even more, _Hmm, 'a person involved in the reading…which person?Does Hermione have to decide something, or is it one of the 'other people involved?'_ _And which 'other person' is it; Viktor? Me? Oh, what does it all mean?!_

Mind bubbling with frustration, Ron completed his presentation, "…And the outcome is your wish…which means the person who got this reading will get whatever she wishes for or something…" _Your wish, your wish, WHAT IS HER WISH?!?! _Ron went back to his seat, where his irritation compelled him to peruse his paper again, trying to put the pieces together, _Okay, so if I look at the "Hope" card, Hermione is wanting to start a new relationship with someone, and that will probably come to pass because her outcome card is "Your Wish." Boy, I wish I knew who she wants to get with…wait a minute… if I look at the "People Around You" card, it would make sense for that person to be who Hermione wants… and if I can assume that the "Ignorance is Bliss" person is me, is it possible…could it be that she…oh my Lord- _

"Hermione likes me!" Ron unintentionally shouted his conclusion for all the class to hear.He slapped his hand over his mouth, completely horrified, as the entire class turned their attention from a floundering Neville (who had been called on after Ron) to him. 

"Um…may I be excused?" Without waiting for an answer, Ron bolted from his seat, through the trapdoor, down the silver staircase, and down to the 1st floor boy's bathroom, clutching the reading firmly in his fist.After wrenching the door open, Ron leaned against it, heart pounding more rapidly with every moment that passed._Hermione likes me, Hermione likes me, oh my God, HERMIONE LIKES ME!_ Ron's mind was reeling with jumbled thoughts, _This is unbelievable, when did Hermione start to like me? _Ron took several deep breaths and walked over to one of the sinks and splashed cool water in his face, but noting seemed to be able to rid him of the strange feverish feeling. 

"Okay Ron, relax, just try to calm down," he said, being comforted by the sound of his own voice."You can handle this, I mean, it's Hermione, your best friend for five years.All you have to do is figure out how to tell her-" 

_Tell her what__, exactly?_ A little voice interrupted him in mid-sentence._What __do __you think of all this?_ Ron felt himself freeze up as he realize he didn't have answers to the voice's question.What did he think of this whole situation?What was he going to tell Hermione?The familiar panic rose up in him again as the voice asked him one final question: _Do you like Hermione back or not?_

Suddenly, the bell rang, indicating the end of 1st period, causing Ron's heart to give a great jolt of surprise.People poured out of their classrooms, chattering and giggling and heading to their next class.Ron, still reeling, ran from the bathroom, confused and rattled, heading for the common room.He ran down the hall, eyes glued resolutely to his feet, determined to leave all the awkwardness of the Hermione situation behind him.As he was turning the last corner before he reached the marble staircase, he collide with someone, causing the person's numerous books to fall to the floor with a deafening thud. 

"Err- sorry," Ron stammered as he bent down to collect the scattered volumes, not even bothering to look at the person. 

"It's okay," said a familiar female voice above him.Ron slowly looked up at her, and had an overwhelming sense of synchronicity when he realized whom it was… 

"Hermione," he croaked, unsure whether the squirming feeling in his stomach was dread or…something else entirely. 

Ron stood up and handed the books to Hermione. 

"Thanks," she muttered, looking almost as flustered at Ron did. "Um- I was wondering- we need to- I have to- can we talk for a minute?" 

"S-sure, I guess," Hermione lightly put her hand on Ron's forearm and led him to an empty classroom across the hall.Ron's heart began beating so hard against his chest that he was sure it were trying to escape the confines of his ribs.Once inside, Hermione closed the classroom door and turned to face Ron.She took a deep breath and spoke: 

"I just wanted to apologize for acting the way I did last night, I was just tired I guess, I really shouldn't have stormed off because of that reading, it was just so silly of me."Hermione was talking very quickly, as if she'd lose her nerve if she didn't get it all out right away."I can't believe how rude I was.I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry and that- well- yeah, that's it."When she was done, she smiled, but Ron could tell that something wasn't right.Her smile looked forced and fake, and her eyes betrayed a sense of discontent and defeat, as if she had lost something.At a loss for words, Ron just stared at her until Hermione spoke again: 

"So, do you forgive me?" 

"Huh? Oh, sure Hermione, but-" 

"Good, alright then, we'd better be off to class, we'll be late if we don't hurry," 

Hermione turned to the door, but Ron stepped in from of her so that he blocked her way out of the room. 

"Ron, what are you doing?" she asked, sounding weary. 

"I-I know what the reading was talking about!" he burst out, suddenly desperate. 

Hermione gasped and her eyes lit up."You did?" she asked, "Really?" 

"Yeah, it's about how-" but Ron stopped talking as Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder, sending a shock throughout his body. 

"I knew it, I knew you'd figure it out, oh Ron, I'm so happy!" She pulled away just enough so she could beam up at him.In that moment, as Ron gazed down at Hermione's elated face, her warm chocolate eyes that were shining just for him, it finally felt real to him, it felt right. 

"Me too, Hermione," and with that, Ron leaned in and gently kissed her, causing the room to spin.When he withdrew, Ron, chuckling, said, "I guess you can't say you don't believe in Divination anymore, can you?" 

Hermione pretended to glare at him, but started chuckling herself. "Shut up, you." and with that, the two left the room, hand in hand. 

The End


End file.
